one little piglet ate the cheesecake

today i woke up and i'm moving around and i realize nonplussedly that my stomach muscles are sore. i did elliptical yesterday but no abs. then i remembered that last night owen and i spent a good 20 minutes throwing mini basketballs as high in the sky as possible. this involves a certain bending and launching motion from the stomach. i also picked him up--2 basketballs in hand, and power carried him over to the basketball hoop so he could do his signature quadruple dunk where he hangs, assisted, onto the rim. am i teaching him showboating? anyway. i'm pretty sure that's what worked my abs. and it was so much fun. he had fun, i had fun. just grab a 3 year old and go!

speaking of sporting excellence, i played tennis and golf on the Wii at Julia's last weekend and it was incredibly fun. my american consumer-oriented mind wants one *right now*! julia's husband was impressed that i kept acing the tennis game even though julia told him multiple times that i played in high school and college. despite that, i still totally lost. the golf program is hilarious whether you like golf or not because it perfectly mimics that soporific PGA music and screen layout. i guess it's no surprise that the japanese would make a kickass golf game. all i remember about flying over japan are mt fuji and hundreds upon hundreds of golf courses. the game probably also includes an unsexy but highly reliable, long-lasting, and efficient golf cart.

great story from my next to last day at work. we have the monthly birthday party where we gather for news, repeated unenthusiastic clapping, and snacks. said snacks included a strawberry cheesecake. well, i didnt have any because of you know, my loose attempt at improved healthfulness. so i go in hours later to get my effing broccoli and yogurt and i see one little pice of cheesecake in the fridge. and assuming it is a leftover from the party, i abandon self-control and decide to eat off the graham cracker crust, because..i love graham cracker crust. so i'm makin some chai, eatin some crust, and i hear the door open. and because i feel like a cow, i stash the cheesecake behind the coffee machine. good thing, because the lady who comes in opens the fridge and starts harumphing and then says "well, i can't believe this, someone took the last piece of cheesecake!" now, do i have strawberry gel on my mouth?, i don't know, but i am HORRIFIED! i'm like..."oh...they probably thought it was leftovers from the party," and she says "but it was in a bowl with celophane"...and i'm thinking "how the hell else does one wrap up leftovers?" anyway she says "i guess i shouldn't have had it anyway." i laugh, "yeah, i understand". i'm like 5 times her size. i do not understand. what i understand is that i am real glad i have a highly developed sense of guilt that makes me hide things. phew!

back to julia's 30th birthday celebration last weekend. julia totally spoils the foodie in me. we went to this incredible restaurant called Chaya in beverly hills. it is a japanese/european fusion restaurant. it sounds pretentious (probably is) but seriously had amazing food including: the best steak i have ever had--a peppercorn butter ribeye; seared scallop with truffle oil and mashed potatoes, wild alaskan salmon sashimi with lemon and capers, halibut with olive oil and herbs over a kale and cherry tomato salad with vinaigrette, steamed chicken salad with ginger sesame asian dressing, sirloin with horseradish steak sauce and mini zucchini, and for dessert--baked chocolate croissant bread pudding with dulce de leche rum ice cream. dear God in heaven. and of course julia's husband is building this wine expert web site, so we get awesome wine. ah. a true feast, but totally in line with what julia deserves.